Call centres have been described as an enabling resource for enhanced customer service, as a cost saving strategy, and a combination of both. Call centres are people intensive, resource demanding environments with complex management challenges. The call centre industry is growing rapidly and South Africa is fast becoming a desired destination for outsourced call centres. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of outsourced call centre management specifically regarding their roles and challenges experienced when executing their daily activities. This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges outsourced call centre managers encounter and provide suggestions to help address major challenges faced in relation to effective call centre management. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature as data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. Inductive reasoning was applied in this study. The call centre managers were purposively selected for the study based on their experience within the industry. The data gathered was transcribed, coded and organised into themes, categories and sub-categories. The study had five objectives and once analysed the following results were obtained: profiles of call centre management was determined, people management surfaced as a major challenge for call centre managers, numerous strategies are in place to deal with challenges, however they are limited due to company policies, cost efficiency was not the main reason organisations outsource their call centres and finally call centre managers perceive their roles to be the overall responsibility of the call centre, its employees and performance. The results revealed that scientific management principles and continuous improvement are major focus areas within the call centre environment. This is mainly driven by the fact that outsourced call centres have contractual obligations that need to be met otherwise they face financial penalties. The findings also revealed that being a manager in an outsourced call centre today is a dynamic and challenging task with many pressures both internally and externally. The study recommends that outsourced call centre managers be empowered and supported by the relevant support divisions as they assume a great responsibility while operating in a dynamic environment and they play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of outsourced call centres. The main limitation of this study is that it relies on outsourced contact centres situated in the Gauteng area that only services one telecommunication organisations customer queries limiting the ability to generalise to other populations. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Call centres have been described as an enabling resource for enhanced customer service, as a cost saving strategy, and a combination of both. Call centres are people intensive, resource demanding environments with complex management challenges. The call centre industry is growing rapidly and South Africa is fast becoming a desired destination for outsourced call centres. The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of outsourced call centre management specifically regarding their roles and challenges experienced when executing their daily activities. This study contributes to the understanding of the challenges outsourced call centre managers encounter and provide suggestions to help address major challenges faced in relation to effective call centre management. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature as data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. Inductive reasoning was applied in this study. The call centre managers were purposively selected for the study based on their experience within the industry. The data gathered was transcribed, coded and organised into themes, categories and sub-categories. The study had five objectives and once analysed the following results were obtained: profiles of call centre management was determined, people management surfaced as a major challenge for call centre managers, numerous strategies are in place to deal with challenges, however they are limited due to company policies, cost efficiency was not the main reason organisations outsource their call centres and finally call centre managers perceive their roles to be the overall responsibility of the call centre, its employees and performance. The results revealed that scientific management principles and continuous improvement are major focus areas within the call centre environment. This is mainly driven by the fact that outsourced call centres have contractual obligations that need to be met otherwise they face financial penalties. The findings also revealed that being a manager in an outsourced call centre today is a dynamic and challenging task with many pressures both internally and externally. The study recommends that outsourced call centre managers be empowered and supported by the relevant support divisions as they assume a great responsibility while operating in a dynamic environment and they play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of outsourced call centres. The main limitation of this study is that it relies on outsourced contact centres situated in the Gauteng area that only services one telecommunication organisations customer queries limiting the ability to generalise to other populations. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1997. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-42).

M.Comm. / The goal of marketing is to supply customers with products and services that satisfies their needs at a profit to the organisation. Several products and services achieve this goal, but instances where the customers' needs are not satisfied do exist, which leads to customer dissatisfaction. Total customer satisfaction is a noble but unrealistic goal. Customer dissatisfaction is a reality and a result of the purchasing process. Defensive marketing, which aims to retain existing customers, is an inseparable part of the effort of delivering unparalleled customer satisfaction. The retention of an existing customer is as important as obtaining new customers for the organisation, and will ensure the long term survival of the organisation. Customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated about the purchasing of products and services. The increase of the level of dissatisfaction experienced by customers when purchasing goods and services is mainly due to the increase in sophistication. Dissatisfaction is a primary cause of customer complaints and an integral part of the marketing cycle. Effective resolutions of customer complaints hold advantages for both the customer and the organisation and is vital to the long term survival of any organisation. The broad goals of the study are: To determine the level of customer satisfaction with their purchases of products and services. To determine customers' complaint behaviour. To determine organisations' responses to customer complaints. The methodology of the study takes the form of two separate empirical research designs, the first design examines customer's attitude towards complaining, and the second researches organisations' response to customer complaints, which is superseded by the theoretical overview of the topic. The empirical research is both exploratory and descriptive in nature. Data was obtained by means of questionnaires that were posted to customer respondent's resident in Gauteng and delivered to organisations in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The major findings of the study include: Customer dissatisfaction is the norm rather than the exception with the purchase of products and services. Regardless of the dissatisfaction experienced by customers, customers do not complain. Customers are not satisfied with the organisations' attempts in resolving their complaints. Organisations are aware of customer goals when complaining. Customers and organisations differ regarding the most effective manner in which to voice a complaint. Differences exist regarding satisfaction levels between product categories. The findings of the study compare with similar studies undertaken in other markets around the world.

The purpose of this research was to investigate how the quality control manager perceived complaints received by textile companies from their business customers. The population included all textile firms that weave fabric for outerwear (apparel). A packet consisting of cover letter, questionnaire (developed by the researcher), and stamped self-addressed envelope was mailed to each quality control manager in the population. Fifty-four usable questionnaires (28 percent) were returned. The Chi-squared test for independence revealed that at the .05 level, no relationship existed between the number of employee-hours spent handling business customer complaints and the establishment of written guidelines for complaint resolution within the quality control department; nor between the office that handled complaints from business customers and end-use consumers, and the office from which quality control received business customer complaints. The Chi-squared test also found that no relationship existed between the ratings for intended end use for fabric that weavers produced and the type of business customers from whom the quality control manager received complaints; and between the time spent handling different types of business customer complaints received by the quality control managers and the source of these complaints. The quality control and sales offices frequently collaborated on complaints to ensure that their business customers received satisfactory resolutions within the established time. The most frequent complaints received were spots/stains/streaks/dye resistant area, or faulty weaving that most likely came from the consumer product manufacturer, converter, or dyer/finisher and consumed almost 50 percent of the time spent handling complaints. / M.S.

This thesis examined how receivers who vary in Interaction Involvement and Locus of Control (LOC) might differ in their interpretations of service complaints. Locus of control was measured using Rotter's (1966) LOC scale, while Interaction Involvement was measured with Cegala's (1984) Interaction Involvement measure, including a separate assessment of the effects for each sub-scale. Individuals were assigned to four groups based on their Interaction Involvement and LOC scores. The groups were compared with one-another for differences in how complaints were interpreted. Four complaint categories and a corresponding scale were developed to measure these differences. The categories were Subject, Goal, Opportunity, and Accountability. Interaction Involvement was expected to affect how receivers interpret the subject and goal of a complaint, while LOC was predicted to affect understanding of the opportunity and accountability aspects. Two research questions explored possible relationships between the complaint categories and the independent variables for individuals within each group. The study's four hypotheses were not supported, although some evidence was found for a significant relationship between receiver Interaction Involvement and perceived complainant Opportunity, for External LOC individuals only.

This study of 79 male and 139 female university students investigated organizational recovery efforts following customer dissatisfaction. Rather than exploring recovery efforts that occur following a service failure, this study examined proactive versus reactive recovery efforts to determine implications for customer service. The purpose of this study was to determine ways in which to prevent a dissatisfying consumer experience from concluding as a complete service failure. This research extended the previous investigations of service recovery by Webster and Sundaram (1998) and Smith, Bolton, and Wagner (1999).A 4 x 3 factorial design employed four service recovery efforts and three service industries. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty served as the primary dependent variables. Results supported the hypothesis that the use of communication before a dissatisfying service event concludes increases both customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results also provided evidence that customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are positively correlated. Combination recovery efforts and implications are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Bibliography: leaves 463-496. / ix, 497 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This thesis explores the dimensions of the actions of consumers, governments and service providers influential in contributing to the climate of reform in the health care area in Australia and the subsequent developments. There are clearly defined consumer models of complaints-handling for the health area, ascertainable from examination of the broader context of the development of the consumer movement and consumer organisations ; and specifically drawing on the common elements from the contribution of the consumer movement in health. A consumer model for complaints-handling at the local level is proposed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Community Medicine, 1997?

Thesis (DPsych (Health Psychology)) - Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2007. / Submitted as a requirement for the degree of Professional Doctorate in Health Psychology, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology - 2007. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-210).